Leasing Consultant

Some leasing roles are purely transactional. This one isn't. At Hawthorne Residential Partners, the Leasing Consultant position at Hawthorne at Oak Ridge in Greensboro, NC is built around relationship-building and genuine hospitality. The skills this role calls on most are persuasion, empathy, and communication. If those come naturally to you, the rest is learnable.

The Skills This Role Puts to Work Every Day

Conversion is the core skill here. You're taking a prospect who found the community online or walked in off the street and turning that curiosity into a signed lease. That means conducting personalized tours that connect the physical space to what the prospect actually wants in a home, following up consistently, handling objections without pressure, and completing leasing applications and move-in paperwork with accuracy. It's sales, but the kind that works best when it doesn't feel like sales.

Communication across multiple channels matters just as much. You'll field inquiries by phone, email, and web platforms throughout the day, often while managing walk-in traffic at the same time. Clear, prompt responses directly affect occupancy. Greensboro has a competitive rental market with several well-managed communities in the northwest corridor near Oak Ridge Road, so prospects are comparison shopping. The speed and quality of your follow-up often determines whether the lease lands here or somewhere else.

Resident relations is the other half of the job. You'll help coordinate community events, respond to resident concerns, and contribute to renewal efforts. Those two sides of the role, leasing and retention, reinforce each other. A community where current residents feel genuinely connected is easier to lease because the atmosphere shows.

Responsibilities at a Glance

• Greet and tour prospective residents, matching unit options to their specific needs
• Respond to inbound inquiries promptly across phone, email, and web
• Manage the full leasing process from application through move-in paperwork
• Support occupancy and renewal goals alongside the broader site team
• Help plan and attend resident events and community engagement activities
• Assist with social media and local outreach to build community awareness
• Track competitor properties and stay current on local market conditions

The schedule runs Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM, and Saturdays 10 AM to 4 PM, with one weekday off each week to keep the schedule at 40 hours. Some evenings and weekends may come up for resident events.

What Makes This a Strong Career Starting Point

Hawthorne is a top-50 multifamily management company with deep roots in the Southeast. They offer a defined career path program, and the Leasing Consultant to Assistant Community Manager progression is a real one, not just a line in the posting. The skills you build here, closing leases, managing resident relationships, learning the operational rhythm of a community, translate directly into site management roles down the line.

Compensation includes hourly pay plus monthly leasing and renewal commissions, along with leasing incentive programs. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401k match, paid time off (including your birthday), pet insurance, and paid parental leave options. A high school diploma or GED is the baseline requirement. One year of customer service, sales, or leasing experience is preferred but not a hard requirement. A valid driver's license is required, and a CALP certification is a bonus if you already have it.

What separates strong candidates here isn't a polished resume. It's genuine enthusiasm for connecting with people and a willingness to be coached on how Hawthorne runs its communities. The technical side of leasing is teachable. The interpersonal instincts are harder to develop from scratch.